Being You All Over Again
by ZeoNyph
Summary: Clementine, after finding peace at Ericson's, finds herself 8 years in the past as her mentor, Lee. Now armed with 8 years of survival experience, what will she do that Lee never could? (Cross-posted on Archive of Our Own)
1. The Calm Before The Storm

It was a bright evening when Clementine sighs in relaxation as she looks towards the woods that lay in front of her from the lookout post. To prevent her from facing too much strain by standing using her crutches, Violet decided to fix a chair she found in one of the old dorms onto the wooden floor of the post.

_I have no idea how she did that with one eye,_ she thought as she sat on the chair, turning her head back to look at Vi sitting on one of the benches, watching AJ drawing something while sitting on the ground. She told Clem that her eyesight was beginning to recover, but that it was far from okay. Louis was out hunting, although hesitantly. Ruby and Aasim talk animatedly at one of the adjacent benches, clearly in love with each other. Willy helps Omar with the stew by cutting up the meat, albeit with gloves, as Omar doesn't trust Willy's hygiene due to, well...

The brunette feels a prick of pain on what was left of her left leg. It also pricks her memory, bringing her back to the hours after their assault on the Delta, to that moment on the bridge, with the words "The night will be over soon…" ricocheting and echoing within their ears, to the agonizing pain of having her leg split from the knee-down, to her 'last' words to AJ in the barn, to the momentary jolt of pain as he aimed for the bitten leg instead of her head.

Sometimes she wonders. If she hadn't trusted AJ, where would she be? _Probably in the barn with a head split in two_, she thought bitterly. And Louis… she wouldn't dare think about it. AJ took the shot because she trusted him to make the hard decisions. But it had come with the cost of poor Tennessee. God, Louis was so devastated when he saw Tenn, with the recently brought upon gunshot wound on his neck, and the walkers grabbing him like a newfound feast. She understood that pain, more than anyone to say the least. The 8 years of survival in the apocalypse always had its costs with her, whether it be her parents, her innocence, Lee, Kenny, Omid, Duck…the list seems to go on and on the longer she went on.

Before she could delve deeper into the fragmented memories of her past, she was brought back down to earth by Louis appearing through the thick foliage that laid the woods, with…

She rose up to get a closer look to who the stranger is, and she finds it to be:

"James?" she concludes, with a look of pure astonishment and a hint of embitterment, most likely over the events in the cave.

James notices the hidden venom in her tone and guiltily nods. _So he feels guilty,_ Clem thought, her shoulders releasing some previously unseen tension. She turns around to face the school and calls out for AJ.

He stops drawing and gets up, soil and mud scattered over the behind of his jeans and runs over to the bottom of the lookout posts, looking at the girl expectantly.

"Yes, Clem?" he asked.

"Can you open the gate for me? And here, catch my wood arm legs." she responded, grabbing the pair of crutches laid against the low wall.

AJ chuckles at her joke, no doubt referencing the moment when she first started roaming the school after the incident.

"You mean crutches?"

"Yeah, that…" she replied, a gleeful smile on her face as well. She threw over the clutches, which AJ catches, despite it having knocked the wind out of him. Beginning to climb down the ladder, the brunette focuses her weight on her one leg and both legs as she descends the ladder. _One step at a time… one step at a time,_ she mentally repeated. Eventually, after what seems like an entire hour, she reaches the ground, giving out a sigh of relief. AJ hands over the clutches and runs towards the gate to open it. Pulling the lock to the side, he pulls open the gate to reveal both Louis, with three rabbits slung over his shoulder, and James, mask in hand.

"Hey there, little man!" Louis greeted, in his usual cheery self.

"Louis!" AJ gleefully screams out and hugs him. Over the time they spent in Ericson's, both AJ and Louis developed a strong bond with each other, almost brotherly. It made Clem feel happy within when she saw the two of them having fun together, whether it be them having a fun conversation, or pissing off Violet. He had something that would be generally unthinkable in this world, a something she only recently began to encounter: peace.

The girl looks at James, who shifts his gaze between her and her stump, at first in confusion, then in realization.

"Oh yeah, I met your, uh, friend out in the woods. Said he wanted to talk to you-" Louis attempted to explain but was cut off by James hugging Clementine. She was shocked by the sudden action, but reciprocated the hug all the same.

He pulls away, tears beginning to form in his eyes, attempting to blink it away. Clem is surprised by this. Never had she seen him shed tears of any kind.

"I… I wanted to say that I was sorry. For- for what happened in that cave, you know? I got so mad, a-and then, that thing inside of me ju-just came out, you know?" The girl nodded in understanding.

James takes a moment to control himself, preventing tears from falling out.

"When I escaped, I heard gunshots nearby, and I went away to the barn, to catch rest. When I did, I found your leg inside, and I couldn't help but feel responsible for that. I want to apologize for not being there for you. I could have helped, but I didn't. So I'm sorry."

Clementine couldn't help but smile at him.

"James, you don't have to be sorry. You had nothing to do with…" she motions at her missing leg. "You were just doing what felt was right. I know that feeling more than anything. You're more than welcome to stay with us. We need someone new 'round these parts."

"You shouldn't really be doing this for me, but thanks for the offer, Clementine. I'm done with moving around." James replied with a smile as he nearly echoed the girl's thoughts when she first found the school.

Clem turned around to face Louis, who looked happy at seeing the two reunite.

"So, Lou? I see you've gotten more than last time, which is saying something."

Louis shook his head.

"Actually, James here helped out after I found him. He's been a great help, so far." He looked at James, who nodded in response.

"What about the caravan?"

"They seem to be armed, with about five guys, and some children, as well as a good stockpile of supplies."

"That's good, then. We'll establish contact with them next morning. Alright, I'll see you guys soon. Just gotta check up on the others."

They nodded and begins to walk away from the gate as they wave at her. Firstly, she needed to find Vi, as her eye was a source of concern for both Ruby and Clem. Noticing Violet was missing, she looks around for her, fearing the worst, until she looks at the graveyard and finds her bending over a grave.

The girl frowns sadly, and walks towards the blonde.

* * *

Violet was filled with regret and guilt over what she had done to Clem in the boat. All she wanted to do was rescue them, and she drove her away coldly. "Some feelings you had for me." she had said, the words echoing in her head long after. Guess God paid in kind, huh? She had thought. She remembered her eyes agonizing themselves in pain as the brutal flames of the explosion greedily licked them. She remembered how Clementine still saved her from that walker, even if her actions would make anyone leave her be. She still cared. It was surprising for her really, because in all her life, nobody stayed with her. Hell, she said so herself. Her drunkard father, too busy drinking to give a fuck; her mother, abandoning her at Ericson's; Minerva… not only did she take herself away, but she took Tenn with her. She just sat there in disbelief when Louis broke the news, and she burst out tears. She burst out even more when she learned that Clem, the girl who risked her life to save her family, the one she'd known her entire life, was in a wheelbarrow with a missing leg.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the creaking of wood coming from behind her. She turns around to find the brunette walking- no, limping towards her with her crutches. Looking at the stump, she can't help but feel guilty at that. Maybe if she had been there…

She gets up, brushing off the remnants of soil and mud caked on her jeans, and turns around to face the girl, now without her signature cap.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself." said Vi, a grin beginning to form on her lips. To Clem's surprise, it quickly diminishes. So does her grin.

"Vi, I just wanna say that I-"

"No Clem, you shouldn't be apologizing for what I did. It should be me. It's just that that bitch Lilly, she kept saying how you'd never show up, that you got Mitch and Brody killed, that you were responsible for everything, and it got to me. And then Tenn-"

Violet was cut off by the brunette's lips as she kissed her. Whatever initial shock she had at this move subsequently vanished as she reciprocated the kiss. Their lips part after what felt like eternity.

"Don't worry, Vi. I'm always there for you. You don't have to worry about being alone. Not again." Clem admits, cupping Vi's cheek.

The blonde teared up at this. "Thank you, Clem. For everything."

She moved in to kiss again. So did Clem.

Their lips were about to touch. She could feel Clem's soft, sugary lips right-

"Hey, lovebirds! Dinner's ready, so come on down!" rang Louis' voice from the courtyard.

The two girls pulled away rapidly, and there was an awkward silence between the two, broken by a chuckle from the shorter girl.

"Fucking Louis." Violet mumbled, as she wiped away some of her tears on her sleeve.

"Come on." she motioned towards the picnic table where everyone was gathering around.. "Ladies first."

"I thought chivalry was dead?"

"Not anymore."

The taller girl laughed at that as she walked with Clementine at an equal pace, as her clutches slowed her down. Together, they sat down at the dinner table, and joined in on the conversation about Louis hilariously fucking up one of his hunting trips.

* * *

The dinner was mostly fun, with laughs breaking out here and there, with compliments to the chef (thank you, Omar), and the two girls staring at each other, love in their eyes.

As everyone left the table, AJ handed over the clutches to Clementine, who waves him goodbye.

On the way to her dorm, Clem meets James, who fidgets in place as he's visibly confused on where to go.

"Need any help, James?" Clementine asks, in a tone showing her willingness to help.

"Uh...where do I stay?"

"Hmm… for now, you take the dorm next to mine. We'll see about your long-term stay in the morning." replies the short girl.

"Follow me, James." she commands.

On arriving at her doorstep, she turns to James. "This here is my dorm. Your one's to the left of mine, okay?" she explains. The former Whisperer nods in response and walks towards the other door.

She looks at James with a smile as she enters her own room. James must have been through a lot out there, same as me. Glad he's welcoming a change of pace, she thought. Placing her crutches against the wall, she lies against the soft mattress to get sleep, something she'd never needed before her car accident. She sighs in relaxation yet again. AJ begun to sleep over in a nearby room, because apparently he's "too big to share a room with." She missed him already.

Before she sleeps however, she begins to talk alone, like she mostly did when no-one was around.

"Is this what it felt like to be you, Lee? You know, leading the right way, making things fun and worth living? Because I'm pretty sure that's what it feels like." she utters tiredly, yawning and twisting her body to get into a comfortable sleeping position.

"Good night, Lee."

As she closes her eyes, she can't help but feel that the stars are winking at her in response.


	2. Where Am I?

The sound of an engine starting up wakes Clementine. She gets up with a start, jolting herself off the car seat. Accompanying her was a searing pain from the side of the head. Her hand involuntary raises up to her head, and notices her hands held together by a pair of handcuffs. Ignoring it, she touches the top area of her head and feels a gauze wrapped around its side. It doesn't matter how she's been injured. What matters is-

"Where am I?" the girl asks to nobody in particular.

"Easy there, ma'am. That's a nasty hit ya got there." a voice rang out in front of her.

Squinting her eyes, she sees a… police officer? He was bald, with white hairs sticking out like flicks of paint on a black canvas, with a mainly khaki uniform, indicating he's from Atlanta. Atlanta? Wait, what am I doing this far out of Ericson's?, she thought. His face gave out an aura of sympathy towards the wounded girl who lay in the backseat.

"Do you remember what you did a few days ago, Miss Everett?"

"Miss Everett? Wha-what do you mean?"

"Shit...the doctors told me you might have some memory loss." replied the cop. He reaches out into the glovebox and pulled out a file. The file was titled as: "C. Everett"

Now she was truly freaked out. Here she was in a police cruiser in Atlanta, while AJ, Vi, her family, were states away in West Virginia. And with Lee's family name, no less.

"Hey. Hey. HEY!" screamed out the officer, in a bid to get her attention, certified he did the job when the brunette screamed in panic. She stopped, which the officer was glad for.

"Here. This might help." he says, handing over the dossier with her name. Her heart feels close to bursting as she opens the dossier. Instantly, it feels as if the file is beginning to hold open her mind, beginning to fill it with memories. Memories that weren't hers to begin with, yet were hers all the same. Images began to play in her mind like an old film reel. Images of her playing with children she didn't seem to recognize at all. Images of her sitting at a school table. Images of her in a wedding dress. Images of her with a gun, shooting down a man and a woman, a man she believed to be her husband (in this world of course, she'd never leave Violet.)

Then, suddenly, it clicked.

In this reality, a reality she had just entered, she wasn't Clementine, the once innocent child turned hardened survivor. Here, she was Clementine Everett, a 25-year-old woman working full-time as a freelance photographer. Her father, Benjamin, ran a local drugstore handed down through his family in Macon after his elder brother Lee died. Her mother died of leukemia when she was just 11 . She also married Louis Harlston, a rich pianist, after (seemingly) finding love when the two met a few years ago at a musical event.

Then, a few days before, she came home early after coming from some woods not far from here, where she took some photographs. On the driveway, she found a motorbike. A Harley-Davidson most likely, although the make and model of it was unclear. Beginning to feel suspicious, as none of Louis' friends had a motorcycle (seeing as they were all snobby aristocrats), she opened the door, finding it unlocked. With her suspicions at volcanic levels, she had sprinted to the staircase in front of her. No, it can't be… Louis wouldn't be cheating on me. It can't be…, she had thought in utter disbelief and denial. She bust open the door, to find the absolute very last thing she wanted to see:

Louis was snuggling on the bed, giggling as he tickles…

"Minerva?!" she screamed, more a guttural animal noise than anything else. The two had a long history. Like a really long history. In her entire photography career, the only concern for her was this red-headed whorenut. One can argue that she had the IQ level of a piece of shit. She would keep stalking her in the hopes of finding good photoshoot locations before she did. And then there were those plaigarism claims. She kept ripping off Clementine's photos and claimed them as her own. It pissed her off to no end.

Which was why her absolute hatred for her was amplified by the millions as she finds Minerva naked on the bed with Louis. How dare they. How **FUCKING **dare they. At that moment, she let her animalistic rage take over. She sped over to the countertop with a bottle of champagne, grabbed it and broke it in two by slamming one half of it on the hard marble so that she had a pointy end.

"Clem, honey...t-there's been a misunderstanding...It's not what it seems li-NO, PLEASE! D-DON'T! " he tries to say, but fumbles upon his words when he sees his wife coming at him with a fury in her eyes unlike anything he had seen before, instead choosing to plead for help. Clem doesn't flinch when she inserts the speared end of the bottle into Louis' chest, spurting out blood like a scarlet waterfall.

" ." she said, with the most hatred she could possibly muster, pushing the bottle deeper into the gaping hole in his chest, doubling the blood flow. As the once-white sheets begin to transform into a deep crimson with Louis' blood, she pulls out the makeshift tip. In the midst of the scuffle, Minnie attempted to get her clothes and run to get out, She was in the staircase, when in her haste, she trips over a step and falls over. The fall breaks her neck, paralyzing her from the head-down.

The brunette hears the fall and makes another guttural scream and pounces through the door, ready to kill once more. She sees the wrecked body of the cheating slut as she pathetically moans for help. How dare she. She deserved it.

Running down the stairs, she stops at the bottom to face Minerva's body, sneering at it.

"You shouldn't have messed with me, Minn. And you'll pay the fucking price for it."

Stabbing the body with the bottle, she kept doing it over and over again until what was once the behind of her body looked like it had been mauled by a bear. It felt really. Really. Good. She threw away the blood-stained bottle half against the wall, breaking with a satisfying crack.

The girl is brought back to the now, clearly horrified with what had happened in the past. Whatever she did, that wasn't her. It couldn't be. Though what else surprised her was how Louis and Minnie were a part of her other reality. The faces of her past and her present intertwined to create this reality she was in was her assumption.

"You good, ma'am?" the cop asked, " 'cause I'm gonna need that dossier back. It belongs to the Atlanta Police Department, so I can't be blamed for something you did."

Before returning the dossier, she noticed a piece of paper standing out from the various records and photographs neatly organized in the file. It was a handwritten note, entirely cursive. The only person she knew to have such handwriting was…

Lee.

Taking the note in her hand, she began to look through the note.

To my sweetpea,

How's it been? It's been a long time since we last met. I thought I told you to meet me when you got everyone safe. Though I don't blame you for not coming. How could I? You're in my shoes now. And right now, if you're

reading this note, that statement is literally true. Don't ask me how. It's just the way it is. Felt it'd be fair to warn you that not all things will happen for you the way it did for me, so be more alert. You now know better than most probably all of the US. Stay safe out there. And don't get bit.

Love, Lee..

She kept staring the note with visible confusion. Until she began to realize something.

She was Lee.

It all made sense. Lee got arrested for murdering his wife and the guy she cheated with - a senator, apparently?- the same way she had gotten arrested for murdering both Louis and Minnie. Though why Louis and Minnie were the lover and cheater here will be a mystery lost in the ashes.

"I'm done." she replied to the officer, handing over the file through the bars that separated the two.

"Alright, Let's move. We have a long ways to go." he states, setting the transmission to 'D' and driving out onto the many roads that litter the soon-to-be wasteland Atlanta.


	3. A New Day

The brunette kept staring out the car window into the endless cityscape of Atlanta, never having seen such a beautiful sight in more than 8 years. The last time she remembered seeing the city in all its glory was… too long ago. People littered the pavements as they walked to their destinations. Coffee shops were dotted here and there along the road, with morning commuters holding their cups and drinking the coffee for a burst of energy to help them last through the morning. _They don't know of what's to come, _she thought.

And her leg. It feels… weird, to say the least. She'd gotten used to hopping around with crutches and a missing leg, so it's most likely gonna take a while to get used to it.

Eventually, they got out of the city. All that was in front of Clementine was an open stretch of road, with the thick forest surrounding both sides. Behind them was the ever-diminishing sight of the Atlanta skyline, its artificiality beaming everywhere. _If only AJ got to see this_, she thought bitterly.

"Well, I reckon you didn't do it, then." the officer stated.

Oh, joy.

"And why would you say that?" she responded in a questioning tone.

"Well, usually with ladies like you, they'll be screaming 'I didn't do it!' to my face and start acting like fussy babies, trying to jump outta the car, kickin' the seats, all kinda stuff."

"I am not that kind of lady" she said, with a hint of irritance. "And I sure as hell am not leaving anytime soon."

"Heh, you got that right."

The silence that filled the car was shattered by the radio, uttering requests for officers.

"Shouldn't you be doing something about that?"

"Ma'am, that box is full of crap. Keep listening to it and you'll lose your mind." he replied, looking as if speaking from experience, turning it off to silence it.

"I, uh, looked through your case a bit, seeing as you're a Macon girl and all."

"I assume you're from Macon, then." the girl said.

"Guilty as charged. Came to Atlanta to be a city cop years and years ago. My family used to be regulars at your daddy's drugstore years ago too."

"Really?"

"Yup. Anyway, ya want to know the way I see it? Your case, I mean." he asks.

"Like I got much choice here." she bitterly responds.

Noticing the venom in her tone, the cop hesitates for a second, before answering with: "Regardless, could be you just married the wrong guy."

"Maybe, officer. Maybe."

A person was crossing the road as he turned to face the brunette. "Ya know, there was this one time-"

"LOOK THE FUCK OUT!" Clementine screamed as she realized that wasn't a person.

It was a walker.

The car collided painfully with the walking corpse, its dark, congealed blood splattering across the hood and the windshield. The body then proceeded to fall under the car, causing the officer to lose control of it. The car skids left and right, before crashing through the metal traffic barrier and careening into the woods below.

The last thing Clem remembered before blacking out was everything flying around while the outside continuously morphed into a forest.

Everything spins around the girl as she wakes up from her involuntary slumber. Instinctively, she reached for her head gauze to check whether her wound had reopened. Luckily, it didn't. _I'm one lucky son-of-a-bitch, _she thought. The car was flipped on its side, so getting out would be hard. Looking at her surroundings, she sees the officer. Or at least, his body.

It looked as if something had dragged him out of the car, and all the way there, evident by the trail of blood smeared over the forest soil. He's most likely dead, so he is going to turn soon. If she could get out, it would be smooth sailing from there.

Except she was handcuffed. And the keys were on the body. And that body will be a walker anytime soon.

"Shit." she said to herself. She had to find a way out. And soon. She could smell the gasoline fumes that are starting to form from under the car. It wasn't a good sign, as the car can easily catch on fire and explode, something she does not want to be in. Looking for a way out, she looks at the window of the car. _Gotta kick it out, _she analyzed. Leaning forward, she raised her good leg, seeing as she still isn't used to having two legs, and kicked the window. It begins to crack.

She raises her leg again and kicks. It cracks further.

She raises it again and kicks the window. It's now on the verge of shattering.

Ske kicks. The window shatters into a million pieces.

The brunette proceeds to lean towards the broken window, using her tied hands as support to prevent her falling down. She quickly puts her hands forward and grabs the car door, the tidbits of glass still attached to the car piercing her hands. The girl tries hard not to scream out loud in pain, so as not to attract walkers. Then, she pushes herself out of the car window and onto the forest floor.

Grunting in pain, Clem gets up, albeit with difficulty, as her hands were still in handcuffs. How long has it been since her hands were tied? She doesn't really remember. She had her fair share of being held prisoner, be it the Delta, the St. John's, or even Carver. _It doesn't matter about before, _she mentally asserts. _Only the now_. Damn, she was almost mimicking Louis' words.

She squeezes and shimmys along the tight space between the side of the car and a massive rock, her hands following the outline of the vehicle, accompanied with the sounds of cracking glass and the foliage whistling with the wind. She eventually comes through the gap and stops to catch a breath, She looks around at the scenery once again.

Near the car was a shotgun, seemingly unloaded, and next to it was a single shotgun shell. Being armed is a priority, yes, but she can't exactly use it while in handcuffs. So she let the shotgun be for now, but picked up the shotgun shell, which was no easy task, requiring her to kneel down and push her hands towards the shell, pulling up when she felt it in her fingers.

Now all she needed was the keys.

Walking over to the corpse, she examined it closely, now that she was close enough. The officer lay face down on the ground, with his hand outstretched, a small pool of blood lay under him, most likely because he was dragged while he was bleeding profusely. The keys hang on his belt, perfectly still. Kneeling down, the brunette reaches for the keys and grabs it. Kneeling back up, she unlocks one of the cuffs, and lets out a relieved sigh as the lingering pain on her right wrist begins to ebb away.

Before she manages to fit the key in the left cuff lock, she hears a groan. And it's not coming from her. With fear in her eyes, she looks at the dead officer's body as it twitches.

Shit.

As if on cue, the officer reanimates and grabs Clementine's leg, causing her to fall. Grunting with pain, she desperately kicks at the walker's face, the reacting force pushing the girl backwards, and away from the walker's grasp. She was safe for now.

The walker now begins to crawl towards her, glassy eyes aimed at her like she was a buffet. She quickly scrambled backwards to stay away from the former officer and to keep herself from being mauled apart.

She kept crawling back until she hit something rock hard. She was back at the car, a few seconds worth of crawling expanding into hours.

The walker was crawling towards her, and if she didn't kill it...she didn't need to know what would happen.

Looking around for a weapon, she finds the shotgun she passed over earlier due to her restraints. She reached for it, and loaded it with the shell she had picked up earlier.

She raised the gun, its iron sight aimed at the walker's head.

It was now or never.

She fired, the _**BANG **_resonating through the woods. The reanimated cop's head blew open, much like a watermelon imploding on itself. The body slumped on the ground, dark, inky liquid seeping out through where a head used to be.

Getting up, she headed back to where the original blood trail had ended. The keys were where they had been dropped, so thank f- for that. Using it, she unlocked the final cuff, and the handcuffs that were dangling from the wrist fell down on the ground, landing with a soft _THUD. _

She had to get out of here soon. The gasoline fumes were starting to make themselves known from a distance, and that smelled danger, literally. And then there were the walkers who were most likely attracted to the gunshot.

Instinctively, she began to search for a way out. A way out. It reminded her of the lessons she had taught AJ before Ericson's. Back then, it was only them and the world, nobody else. They'd sleep in the car most days, or in an abandoned shelter, where the chilling wind and the stars' twinkles kept them accompanied. She shook her past out of her head. _Not now, _she thought, resuming her task of looking for a way out.

She spots a fence not far from here, though she'd have to climb a little to reach it. But it's a small price to pay for instead of death. She runs towards the slope, climbing it, which was easy, as it wasn't steep by a long slide. The fence seemed climbable when she reached it, which was saying something for her height. Not only that, but it seemed familiar, but she couldn't seem to place that familiarity in her past. She turned around to hear the moans of the dead approaching her as around a dozen walking corpses stumbled towards her.

Climbing over the fence, she landed on her feet and looked around her surroundings. It was then that she realized the house she was in.

Was hers.


	4. The First Twist

_**A few hours earlier…**_

It was common for Violet to find herself in many places in her dreams, whether it be her trailer home back in Texas, the bell tower in Ericson's, or Minnie and Sophie's old room.

But this? This was different.

The blonde groggily rose up from where she slept. She noticed some things were different. Firstly, the bed seemed softer than before. And secondly, she wasn't in her dorm. In fact, she wasn't in Ericson's at all. Inspecting her surroundings, she finds herself in a living room. A TV is in front of her, currently in a news channel. Behind her was a dining table, with its chairs flipped and overturned. To her right was a small cabinet with an answering machine, the number '2' flickering in its tiny display, and a clock displaying: "Apr 25, '03 - 12:36 pm". And her eyesight was crystal...clear? She didn't have her eye patch on, and when she felt her face, none of her burn marks were present, instead she felt soft, undisturbed skin.

_Where the fuck am I?, _ Violet thought. This was someone else's house, and if she was- wait, a news channel? She no longer felt tired as she was a few moments earlier as she stared into the TV, not only because of the fact that it was the first time since she saw a working one since the world had gone to shit.

It was because of Clementine.

Footage of the brunette walking towards a police car played on screen, as the news reporter appears in front of the camera.

"_At about two o'clock in the morning, two bodies were found in the household of Clementine Harlston. The bodies belonged to Louis Harlston-"_

An image of Louis.

"_-and Minerva Reedpipe."_

An image of Minnie popped up on the screen. Violet was now weirded out. This isn't the world she was raised in. This wasn't the real world. It couldn't be. Louis was back at Ericson's, joke in hand and "Chairles"-god, did she hate that name- in the other, and Minnie's corpse was most likely wandering the area around the bridge. And Clementine was just lying in bed, dreaming peacefully for the first time in years.

And yet here they were.

"Violet?" a voice rang out from upstairs. A voice that had to be…

"AJ?"

What would Clementine think if she saw AJ here? Pushing herself off the couch, she locates the stairs (to her right, who wouldn't see that). Climbing it, she finds herself in a small corridor leading to three rooms.

The first room's door was slightly ajar, and the tall girl peered inside to see its contents. The bathroom, she realized, was decently sized -in comparison to both her trailer's and Ericson's bathroom, with a sleek ivory-white bathtub and a matte-blue toilet, complete with a set of plush toilet paper. A medical cabinet lay on top of the marble sink. _Talk about high class, _she thought. It's been so long since she's seen a room this clean.

The next room was closed, however. The door had the phrase "Alvin + Rebecca" etched onto it. Were they AJ's parents? Regardless, it didn't make any sense. Why was she here, and why is AJ here in another house, with his parents?

Shaking away the mental barrage of questions, she opened the third and final door into what she hoped to be AJ's room. And it was. The walls were of amber color, just like Clementine's, with books scattered all over the floor. The boy was on the floor, wearing a Science Dog shirt and Clem's hat (it was in pristine condition compared to the last time the girl saw it), reading "Alice in Wonderland" as he hummed the Disco Broccoli theme song. _After all these years, the one thing I never forgot was that damn song, _she thought.

Noticing the older girl, AJ quickly throws away the book and runs to hug Violet. She seemed to be slightly taken aback by the hug, because AJ somewhat disliked her after what she did on the boat. She didn't blame him, as that's exactly what she would have done if in his shoes.

AJ pulls back from her with a look of concern on his face.

"What happened, Violet?" he asked, his tone clearly different to the tone she normally hears in Ericson's. The AJ she knew had the mind of an experienced adult, but the AJ here was, and she was shocked to realize, was almost childish. She remembered Clem telling her that she wished that AJ was able to feel what life was like before the dead. In that case, she got her wish.

"Where are we?"

"What kinda question is that, Violet? We're at my home!"

"But why?" she asked the younger boy, her expression indicating the fact that she truly doesn't know.

"You don't remember?"

Those words began to echo in her mind as foreign memories and a foreign past began to intertwine with her present. Images of herself she didn't recognize began to materialize in her vision, with familiar faces and unknown faces seamlessly merging together.

Then, the bits and pieces came together to form her alternate personality.

In this reality, she was Violet Addison, a 26 year old accountant, with a part time job of being a babysitter-for-hire. Her life until the age of 11 remained the same as before, but this time, instead of being sent to Ericson's, she was sent to a psychologist, moving to Georgia from Dallas after graduating. She was still a lesbian (thank fuck for that), but still hasn't found love. As for AJ, his parents were her latest clients to hire her. They had left to Savannah on their annual trip and were to arrive tomorrow.

"Vi? What's wrong? You ok?" AJ asks, concern dripping from his voice, which brings Violet out of her confused thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm ok." she replies, though still unsure of this.

"You excited for your parents to come home, AJ?" she asks, hoping to throw AJ away from her uncertainty.

"Yup! Dad said he'd bring some Disco Broccoli toys, so I'm waiting for those!"

"Alright, goofball." AJ pouts at that name, Violet noticed, the same way he does when Clementine calls him that.

"You must be hungry, AJ. Need some lunch?"

"Sure, Vi!" the boy says, holding the older girl's hand as she guides him towards the kitchen.

As they climb down the stairs, however, they began to hear car alarms ringing from outdoors, as well as windows breaking, along with the crunch of the broken glass as it gets trampled upon by the ones who broke it in the first place.

"What's going on, Vi?" the boy asks, suddenly frightened.

"I...I have no idea." was all she could say, a memory of years past popping up, a memory similar to the present.

_The sound of car alarms and glass breaking awakens Violet, who had been comfortably sleeping in bed after finishing a homework assignment on the Industrial Revolution at 1 in the morning. She jolts up off her bed and runs to the other to awaken Minnie, who was unfazed by the sounds of riot outside. "Minn. Minn." she says, shaking the redhead. When she doesn't get up, she screams out: "MINN!"_

_"Uh...what, Vi?" Minerva mumbles, slowly stirring from sleep._

_"Don't ya hear that?" Violet responds, her tone laced with fear._

_"Hear what?" she asks, before another car alarm rings out, accompanied with the sound of glass shattering, only this time much more vividly. And the sounds of vehicles driving in a hurry served as the background to the auditory chaos ensuing outside the school._

_"Shit." was all the redhead could say._

_"C'mon. We gotta find the others."_

_Violet offers an outstretched hand to help Minnie up, which she gladly accepts. Before running out of their dorm room, the blonde looks at the clock, which read out: "7:45 am". The two girls open the door to find other students running all around the place in their pajamas, with most in a state of panic as they were unable to understand what the fuck was going on._

_Looking at each other, the two girls raced to another dorm room a few doors away to find Sophie. Opening the door to the room, they find Sophie and Brody inside, with Sophie comforting a panicked Brody. She always had panic attacks when the two were together, so Sophie found it easy to comfort her. _

_"W-what's going on, Minn?" Sophie asks. When the taller redhead shakes her head, she asks the same of Vi to no avail. _

_Shaking her head, she attempts to calm Brody down. "Ssh, Brody. You're gonna be alright. Everything's gonna be ok." she says in a soothing tone._

_Just then, Louis pops in, almost slamming open the door. Sophie stands up, leaving Brody be._

_"Girls, we, uh, we have a problem." he says, his tone more serious than it ever used to be, alarming all present in the room, Violet included._

_"Ericson's gone. So are the teachers."_

_The girls stood there, stunned in silence and disbelief._

_Minerva broke the silence._

_"Why?" she asks, disbelief emanating from her tone. It wasn't like them to abandon the students. They were absolute bitches to them, sure. But to leave them?_

_"The news repo- the new-" Louis fumbles over his words, stopping to get a grip, taking in a deep breath, and lets it out._

_"We're in the apocalypse. It's all over the news. The dead… the dead are coming back to life."_

Those words continue to echo in the blonde's mind as she returns to the present.

"Wait here." she commands, AJ taking heed and staying at the foot of the staircase.

Peering through one of the windows at the front of the house, she sees cars simply abandoned, some even on fire, as people run to get away from the walkers. One poor soul got grabbed by a walker, which began devouring their arm. The TV inside the house began to shout out evacuation orders to anyone in the city.

_Fuck. Not this shit again, _the older girl thought. For perhaps the first time in years, she thought she could get away from the shitty world that life dealt them. After all, this seemed real, didn't it? But then the dead never leave. They never do.

The blonde began to formulate a plan. This house seemed solid, so they could stay here and try to protect the place. But then if the apocalypse had just begun, there were chances of robbers coming in. So another place seems to be the best bet. But where?

As if on cue, another memory from the other Vi materialized. _She instantaneously found herself at the house's backyard, with a camcorder in hand. The girl admired the device in her palm, looking as if she had discovered fire._

_She heard AJ's calls from above. Looking up, she sees the young boy waving at her from a treehouse with one hand while pointing inside with the other. "Hey, Vi! There's a raccoon inside!" he screams. _

The treehouse...the treehouse was their best bet, but even then, she was unsure of whether it actually was a good plan. _If only Clem were here…, _she thinks.

Shaking her head, she runs back to the staircase, and finds a frightened AJ. "Why do I hear monsters outside?" he asks. Seeing AJ this frightened reminded her of her own fright in the early days. _God, seems so long ago doesn't it?_

"I hate to break it to you, AJ. But it doesn't look good out there." she says, her heart beating fast. "We gotta find some food and hide someplace. The treehouse seem like a good idea?"

"Yeah. Monsters can't climb up the tree, so it's a safe spot. But why not the house?"

"It's just too risky, AJ. Anyone can come and try to harm the two of us. I don't want that."

The afro-headed boy nodded in understanding. Violet managed a smile at that. She had to keep AJ safe. For her. For Clementine.

The girl began to run towards the kitchen, her steps echoing loudly throughout the house. The kitchen was modestly comfortable, with a decently-sized fridge and a whole lot of cabinets. _A house like this has gotta have some kind of canned goods, right?, _she mentally asked herself. Simple leftovers won't save them in a world like this. Canned goods are the best bet here. That shit don't rot easily.

"AJ. Come help me over here." she called out. The young boy followed eagerly, with an all-too-familiar glint in his eyes. She saw that glint whenever he helped Clem with her crutches. That same glint when Clem let him keep that goddamn hat of hers. "Take any food that's in cans. Nothing else, okay, AJ?" she asks of the kid.

AJ seems unsure. "Why only the cans, Vi?"

"Canned food doesn't expire as quickly as other foods, so we can keep it for a longer time."

The boy understands and mutters an "I got it!" before opening one of the lower cabinets to get the cans of beans stocked there.

The girl looked at him with happiness, but then something got her attention: a knife rack. With a butcher knife. Her kind of weapon.

Grabbing it, she gently touches the sharp end of the knife and feels it sharp to the point. _This is gonna fuck those deadheads up pretty badly_, she thought.

Sheathing it in her waistband, she goes to help AJ find the cans.

* * *

Eventually, they managed to pile up all of the food they could find, as well as all of the bottled water. Now all they had to do was get a bag or two to actually carry the stuff.

"AJ, you know where to find some bags?" she asks him.

"Uh… lemme think… Oh yeah! Mom always keeps some duf-du-"

"Duffel bags?"

"Yeah, those! She keeps them in my closet upstairs."

"Ok, I'll get two of those, that should be enough." Violet says. "Wait here." She begins to run out of the kitchen, taking a left. The TV now displayed blue static. Atlanta got itself in a deep hole. Cities like that don't stand a chance against walkers. Too congested. A death pit, in the simplest terms.

Violet couldn't keep her mind off Clementine as a million questions begin to invade her train of thought. _What is she doing here? Why'd she kill Lou and Minn? Does she remember me? Does she remember her past?_

The blonde was so distracted by her thoughts she didn't come back to reality until she collided painfully with the door leading to AJ's bedroom. _Real smooth, Violet., _she thought bitterly. Clutching her forehead in pain, she opens the bedroom. The closet was to the far end of the bedroom, the doors having been painted in ocean blue. Rushing forward, she opened the closet to find two duffel bags, both of which had a canvas-like texture and an olive-green colour. Grabbing both, she ran outside the room, to be met with the crisp and clear sound of glass breaking from below, following with a low, deep moan.

Walker.

AJ.

Shit.

Violet ran as if her life depended on it. After all, she couldn't live with herself if she managed to get Clementine's surrogate son killed because of her stupidity. Unsheathing her butcher, she ran down the stairs, taking two at a time. She had to get there. Fast. The growls and moans got louder as she reached the ground floor.

A walker, wearing a torn maroon shirt and a pair of black denim jeans torn everywhere, had broke open the glass door, and was lurching towards AJ, who was huddled in the corner, with tears falling out of his green eyes. The older blonde ran towards the walker, who turns around when hearing the noise, only for it to meet the cleaver in Vi's hand. The head split in two, and the now-lifeless body slumped to the floor.

Violet runs over to the frightened boy, who started to let more tears fall when he saw the corpse, body wracked with each sob, repeatedly muttering "No, no, no…". Kneeling down to match AJ's height, she attempts to soothe the boy by running a hand over his back. "Hey, hey, hey. It's gonna be okay, AJ. It won't hurt you anymore." she says.

This seems to calm AJ down. Tears stop falling down, and he wipes his cheek with his sleeve to get rid of any leftover tears. "I'm okay now, Vi." he says, his voice normalizing. Getting up, he looks at Violet expectantly.

"Fill up the bags. This house isn't safe anymore."


	5. A Welcome Surprise

_**Sometime later…**_

Violet sits up against the wall of the treehouse, with AJ sleeping on the floor. The blonde stares at the golden sky that lay in front of her eyes, like a phoenix going out with one final burst of fire before being reborn from the ashes into another world.

The girl's mind was going places. What would they do if their supplies run out? Where would they go? Where is Clementine? That last question was more prominent, acting like an acid that tries to corrode and burn her mind. She's out there somewhere, alone. And if she finds them, there's no telling in the fact that the boy who she raised will not only be unable to recognise her, but he will be an entirely different person. Meaning Clem has to start over. _How hard could that be, _she sarcastically comments to herself.

What a world they live in.

The blonde gently ruffles AJ's afro, before getting up and walking to the treehouse edge, the maple wood slightly creaking with each step. Sitting down with her legs dangling off the edge, she looks around the neighbourhood. Cars litter the street, personal belongings scattered everywhere with some drenched in blood. A few walkers here and there, some feasting on the several bodies haphazardly placed on the pavement.

_Thank God we're not one of them, _she thinks. _If AJ-_

Her thoughts were abruptly cut off by a loud clash of metal on earth, its sound scraping the countryside. She'd only heard that sound once, and that sound was what led them to the girl of her life.

Rushing to get up, she stands to see the location from which the sound originated, with the tree house's altitude providing a good vantage point, and sure enough, there was a car crushed to death on its side, the words "Atlanta Police Department" etched on both doors. So the car had to have come from the city, because why would a city cop come outside their jurisdiction area?

A man, who appeared to be slightly older than 50, wearing a khaki uniform, was crawling out from under the driver seat window. He was attempting to push himself from the car while clutching his abdomen in pain, scarlet blood seeping out from where he held his hand. He was dying.

Violet contemplated helping the man, seeing as he is critically injured. She would, if it weren't for the baggage she was carrying. Leaving AJ behind wasn't worth saving a man who was to turn in almost no time at all.

Shaking her head in pity, she turned to enter the treehouse, leaving the man crawling for his life. The blonde enters to find AJ wide awake, with an expression of concern. "What happened out there, Vi? It sounded like a c-"

"Car crash, yeah."

"Are they ok? The people, I mean."

Violet didn't know how to respond. She stood there, allowing silence to envelop the treehouse. AJ, being the smart kid he is, understood what had happened. His breathing became rapid and he looked scared.

"AJ. Hey. Don't worry, it's gonna be alright." the girl says, rushing to comfort the boy, kneeling to match his height, and holds his hand.

_What did Clem say to AJ about fear?, _she tried to remember.

_She told… she told fear to fuck off. Yeah, that's it._

"AJ. When we get scared, what do we do?"

"We...we…"

"We tell it to fuck off."

"Swear."

"Fine. _Flip _off."

"Flip off, fear!" AJ screams, and with that, his breathing began to normalise, and a smile grew on his lips.

"There ya go, AJ! Just keep it in mind whenever you're scared, ok?" Violet says, a smile growing on her face. The boy nodded in response.

"Who taught you that?" he asks out of curiosity. "I mean it worked, so the person who taught you that must have been smart." The blonde chuckles at that. _Clem sure was smart, _she thinks.

"Who's Clem?"

Maybe she had thought that out loud. Regardless, she might as well go with the flow, right? "Uh, Clem's kinda, uh, kinda my gir-girl-"

"Girlfriend?"

"Yup."

"Did she have a hat like mine, but dirty?" he motions to his baseball hat.

"Yeah- wait, how'd you know?" she asked. This AJ, as far as she knew, did not know a "Clementine". So it was extremely unnerving when he somehow knew the appearance of a person he has never met.

"I don't know… it's just, one moment I was just reading a book, and suddenly I see a vis- a visi-... things I never did, and places I never went to. And my parents weren't near me. The Clementine you're talking about, she took care of me, even though I didn't know her at all. I saw you too, just with only one eye. And I think I… I killed someone. It's why I called you. But I didn't tell you, 'cause I was scared you'd laugh at me or scold me. Is it weird?"

Violet internally sighed with relief. At least he knew something about Clementine, so their first meeting wouldn't be as awkward. Now it was time to answer AJ's question.

"Actually, it isn't weird, AJ. You know why?"she asked the boy, who shook his head sharply. "Because it happened to me too. Just the other way around."

"What do you mean?"

"The Violet you saw in your vision? That was me in my world, and in my world, the walkers came years ago. And you were born in a world of walkers. You didn't know about the things you know now. You never met your parents, because they were dead after you were born. Clementine? She raised you, taught you to survive out in that world."

"So she was like a mother to me?"

"You can say that. I know it's a lot to take in, the same way it is for me. But-"

_**BANG!**_

The sound ricocheted through the countryside clear as day. And Violet was awfully familiar with that sound. It was a gunshot.

Her mind went into "PROTECT" mode again, as she instructed AJ to stay inside. Running outside, she looks again at the car crash.

A figure stands in front of the officer. Or rather, his decapitated corpse. The mysterious person looks around before seeming as if they heard something.

And soon enough, walkers began to appear from thin air, no doubt attracted by the gunshot. They look around before focusing on the house's fence and running towards it.

Fuck.

She -no, _they_ had to hide before this person found them and broke hell loose. Running back inside (for the second time), she dive bombed into the treehouse, hoping that the stranger hadn't seen her. AJ ran towards her, clearly with worry, but Violet motions for him to stay silent and crawls towards him.

"What happened, Vi?" he asks. "Is someone after us?"

"Yes, but if we stay silent and stay close to the floor, they won't see us." she responds. The boy nods in response and crouches. The blonde crawls towards a window that faces the fence, and peeked out.

The figure had reached the gate and began to climb over the fence, the moans getting louder as a moment passed by. Violet felt a sense of familiarity upon the stranger, who it turns out is a woman, but could not seem to put two and two together. The other girl seemed to be wearing a blue shirt with a red leather jacket, and had her brown hair tied up in a French braid. From where she looked, the blonde was unable to make out the person's face.

The girl below her looked around the place, before looking as if she realized something. _This can't be good, _Violet thinks. The brown-haired girl began to run towards the house, the leather of her boots creaking synchronized with the creak of wood as she ran up the porch towards the glass door and inside the house.

Violet had to do something about this.

* * *

Clementine wasn't as surprised as she thought herself to be, which makes sense as she pretty much knew what was happening with the help of Lee's note, but damn was she unable to contain her astonishment at the place.

The house still looked as magnificent as she remembered it to be. Massive, white, almost everything remained the same. The only difference was that, in this world, she had absolutely no connection with it. She ran towards the house, her heart thumping with joy. All she wanted to do was see the insides of a place long gone in her mind. The TV, the kitchen, the dining table. Everything.

She stops dead in her tracks when she sees the broken glass door and the dead walker, its head having been split open by a knife of some kind. This… can't be. A child couldn't have done such a thing. At least not so soon, not immediately after the world went to shit. Only an adult could have attempted this in success.

Only one question came to mind: _Who came here before her?_

As if to answer her question, a knife materialized, the sharp edge aimed for her neck.

"Who. The. Fuck. Are you." her assailant asked. Clementine had only heard the voice so many times, the first time mocking her for crashing the car, the last time trying to apologise only to be cut off with a kiss.

"Vi…?"

The cleaver dropped to the floor with a loud clang as the brunette turned to face her lover. Violet's eyes were beginning to tear.

"Clementine?"


End file.
